Tripmate.gif (1616 bytes)Tripmate is a rather inexpensive 12 channerl GPS receiver from DELORME. It has no display capabilities and all GPS data is send to an RS232 port. It works with a notebook/CE/Pilot and mapping software, which in several applications is better suited than a handheld GPS

 BreakingNews.gif (4096 bytes) DELORME has a new model called Earthmate.
  It can only output Rockwell binary data so it is NOT combatible with most of the
  mapping programs around.  Tripmate is no longer availiable
                    
TRIPMATE SPECIFICATIONS

12 Channel GPS L1 C/A code receiver
Approx 3 minutes to fix at cold start (with valid almanac)
Approx 1 minute to fix at warm start
Temparature range is -10 to 60 C
Size is about 12.5x7.5x4.0 cm
Weight with batteries is 270g
Battery life is about 15 hours
Interface is RS-232C with NMEA-0183 Ver2.0 protocol

Tripmate is based at the Rockwell chipset. You can download a pdf file with the Rockwell Zodiac protocol

SOFTWARE

Tripmate is sold together with software for the PC. There is also software for the Pilot.You can find all of them at DELORME.

If you are looking for other mapping programs to use with your Tripmate check Robin's GPSS, which detects and initilises the Tripmate. Robin has created a great program and you can find many usufull things about GPS in his page.

Pilot to Tripmate connector

In order to use  any  program that uses Tripmate with your PalmPIlot   you need a Pilot to Tripmate connector
Tripmate&Pilot.gif (31706 bytes)

Initilising Tripmate (and keeping it initilised !!!)

I have been asked this question from a lot of people, so here is what you need to do.

When you connectTripmate to your seria and you run a terminal program (Hyper Terminal for WIn95),with settings 4800,N,8,1 you receive some sentences similar to these.

$PRWIRID,12,01.05,07/29/96,0003,*46
$GPRMC,235949,V,3550.0974,N,13938.8262,E,0.000,0.0,120895,7.0,W*74
$PRWIZCH,00,0,00,0,00,0,00,0,00,0,00,0,00,0,00,0,00,0,00,0,00,0,00,0*4D
ASTRAL
ASTRAL
ASTRAL
ASTRAL

The ASTRAL word is the "mark" of Tripmate and the source of the all the "problems", that Tripmate has with several of the mapping programs. This happens because the programs expect NMEA sentences to operate and Tripmate outpouts "ASTRAL". In order for Tripmate to start outputing NMEA it needs to receive the word "ASTRAL" back.  After that it will start "behaving" like a normal GPS sending NMEA centences.


Other way to receive data from Tripmate is to cross the pins of connector between
TX(2( and RX(3)
But on this way, You can not send any commands to Tripmate.

This page was last updated 27/01/2000